Sometimes life doesn't go according to plan. Sometimes you find yourself on a road you never imagined you'd travel. Sometimes it can scare the pants off you. This is the story of how our little family came to be, continues to grow and how we (attempt to) manage the chaos.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Therapy, teeth & injuries....oh my!

Our first week of hyperbarics went amazingly well. Expect the worst, hope for the best.....that's kind my approach to new and potentially scary things for Noodle. I arm myself with everything I can that has the potential to soothe her and we jump in.

Day one was a little rocky, but overall so much better than I expected. Noodle got fitted for her hood and tolerated getting into it and into the chamber with me. When we started going up to pressure, she got pretty upset. It was challenging to keep her from head-banging & thrashing around a lot, but with lots of singing and squeezes, she calmed once we made it up to pressure and settled in. For the next hour she vacillated between happy/content with a few outbursts of agitation, only becoming very upset again when we depressurized. She was thrilled to have the hood taken off. For me, the experience was fine. I didn't really have any time to think about being trapped in that tiny space with no way to get out in a hurry or all of the things that could potentially go wrong since all of my energy and focus was on keeping Noodle calm and happy. My only real complaint - the heat...my God, the heat - it has to be well over 100 degrees in there! Since Noodle doesn't thermoregulate, it is a bit of a concern, but I know know to strip her down to just a light one-piece dress, no pants and as long as she's calm she's okay. We keep the lights off to help cut down on the heat as well.

Day two was great! Noodle was in a drug induced stupor sleeping when we got there and we managed to get her into her hood and into the chamber without waking her!! She slept the entire time! I may or may not have taken a short nap myself - I'll never tell, but judging by the Albert Einstein hairdo I had when I emerged, it probably happened.

Day three was absolutely incredible. There was a small bit of fussing with the hood, but once we got into the chamber, Noodle just laid back and this amazing sense of peace came over her. Those who know her really well know that she is not the type to just sit and take it all in. She's kind of "on guard" all the time. She's tense and unless she's in a deep sleep, she's always moving, fidgeting, "talking," etc. But Wednesday, she was just lying there and her whole body felt relaxed. Times like that I wish so much she could tell me what she was feeling and thinking. It was as if she knew she was going to feel good and was just waiting for it. When our dive was over, she was mad - really mad! She did NOT want to get out of that chamber! I'm so excited to see what next week brings!

In other news, all four kids visited the dentist this week and we had four perfect reports! How amazing is that?!?! We are so incredibly blessed on the dental front, especially considering that 2 kids had no dental care for their first 5 years, 1 kid had failure to thrive and 1 kid is tube fed. All 4 should have some sort of dental problems, but so far so good.

The big kids are loving their summer programs so far. Spare time is filled with ball playing, water fights, and of course - injuries! Boys - I swear, they'll have developed a complete second skin before they hit adolescence. Noodle is spending most of her spare time at therapy and Esen is also doing extra OT and PT. It's been a wild start to the summer!

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About Me

I am a happy wife and lucky mom to four very special kids. If there's one thing I've learned over the past few years it's that life never goes as planned - and that's okay by me! feel free to email us: ksfenske@gmail.com

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For six long years we've held her tightly in our hearts. Leaving her behind in her orphanage was the hardest thing we ever had to do. We've fought like hell to be allowed to bring her home & promised her that we'd never give up.

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Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have which once you have got it you may be smart enought to see it is what you would have wanted had you known..... ~Garrison Keillor